Firebird Sketchbook: They Have Arrived!

They're heeeere!! My Firebird sketchbook is my first little artist book, filled with drawings and process sketches from my Russian Fairy Tales series. They look lovely all stacked in their box, but I'd love to send them out to new homes. Each one comes signed and numbered, with an optional original drawing on the inside cover. Get yours HERE.

Firebird Sketchbook: Coming Soon!

Here is a little teaser for my sketchbook, which is currently in production and will be in my Etsy store very soon! This has been in the works since the summer, when I finished my MFA thesis on Russian fairy tales and had Russian fairy tale drawings coming out of my ears. The book is 32 pages, and contains a mixture of finished drawings and process work, along with bits and bobs of story. Each book will be signed and numbered.

I must also mention that part of my motivation to get this thing done is that I will have a table at my very first convention in April - Awesome Con! I'll be sharing said table with the ever awesome Marc Scheff, who will be selling his gorgeous new art book.

Russian Fairy Tales and an MFA

Well, it is done! As of July I have finished the Low Residency MFA in Illustration Program at the Hartford Art School. Although I consider myself a student for life (there's always something new to learn!) it does feel great to have this degree under my belt, and I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge and artistic leaps that I gained through the program.

 My thesis show hanging in the Joseloff Gallery

The major project that I chipped away at for the entire two years of the program was the Master's Thesis. I chose to focus on Russian Fairy Tales, combining my love of fairy tales and folklore with an exploration of my Russian heritage. I spent much of the first year reading stories (and different versions of the same stories), and researching Russian history, politics, clothing, landscape, architecture, etc. I finally settled on a selection of eight stories for which I planned a series of paintings and drawings. The stories vary quite a lot in subject matter, but I generally looked for ones with strong female characters (I'm always a fan of a gal who doesn't need to wait around for a prince to save her), or plucky children who get themselves out of sticky situations.

I ultimately completed eleven paintings and about sixteen drawings. Here I have posted a few of the pieces from the project. You can find more on my website.

 The Frog Princess

Swan's Rescue - from the story The Witch

 

 Baba Yaga - a character who appears in many stories

 Prince Ivan and the Grey Wolf